title: Assessment of coronary atherosclerosis by IVUS and IVUS-based imaging modalities: progression and regression studies, tissue composition and beyond.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and disability in the developed world, predominantly affecting the adult population. In the early 1990s coronary heart disease (CHD) was established as affecting one in two men and one in three women by the age of forty. Despite the dramatic progress in the field of cardiovascular medicine in terms of diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, modest improvements have only been achieved when the reduction of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity indices are assessed. To better understand coronary atherosclerosis, new imaging modalities have been introduced. These novel imaging modalities have been used in two ways: (1) for the characterization of plaque types; (2) for the assessment of the progression and regression of tissue types. These two aspects will be discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcenter, Erasmus University Medical Center, z120 Erasmus MC Dr Molerwaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bill D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Gogas
authors.forename: Vasim
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Farooq
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Serruys
authors.forename: Hector M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Garcìa-Garcìa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional